During the War of the Ring, Peregrin Took, a companion of Aragorn's in the Fellowship of the Ring, became a member of the elite Citadel Guard at Minas Tirith, capital of Gondor. When Aragorn entered the city, Peregrin persisted in crudely referring to Aragorn by the nickname he had garnered as a Ranger of the North: "Strider", even in front of foreign dignitaries such as King Éomer of Rohan. Aragorn was amused, and decided that the name of the lineage he founded would be "Telcontar", which means "Strider" in Quenya. Aragorn then took the royal name "Elessar".

With Queen Arwen, King Elessar reigned for 120 years, before finally surrendering his life. This long reign is attributed to Elessar's descent from the Men of Númenor, who are blessed with long life (he was 87 when he took the throne). He rebuilt the old capital Annúminas in Arnor and later ruled from this northern capital, although the old capital Minas Tirith was still of great political importance. Elessar had one known son, Eldarion, and an unspecified number of daughters.

King Elessar was buried with higher honor in Minas Tirith. King Eldarion (his name meaning "From the Elves" in reference to his mother Arwen) was "full ripe for kingship" at the time, and ruled for an unspecified amount of time well into the Fourth Age of Men. Little is known of Eldarion, save that he left heirs to continue the House of Telcontar after him.